He’s Haz, she’s Meg... stars of TV toe-curler
‘Private’ prince films bus trip for James Corden show, defends Netflix’s The Crown ...and can’t resist a new swipe at Palace
PRINCE Harry took a fresh swipe at the Royal Family yesterday in an extraordinary TV interview.
Drinking tea on an open-top bus touring Los Angeles, he insisted he did not walk away from royal duties.
The Duke of Sussex, 36, also took part in an astonishing rendition of rap hit The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as he visited the mansion where the 1990s Will Smith sitcom was made.
He was even filmed asking to use the owner’s toilet – before Meghan made an ‘unscheduled’ yet oddly glamorous appearance on his phone while they joked about buying the property.
The intensely private royal also revealed details of his son Archie’s first word and Christmas present from the Queen, and of his date nights with Meghan, 39, as part of an ‘excruciating’ TV skit.
The sixth in line to the throne was appearing on the US entertainment programme The Late Late Show with its British host James Corden, a close friend who attended his wedding to Meghan.
The 17-minute skit, designed to launch the couple’s US media careers, left royal insiders squirming with embarrassment and led to accusations Harry was cashing in on his royal links, despite promising the Queen he would never do so.
It also raised eyebrows as three times the prince plugged Netflix, the streaming TV service with which he and his wife have signed a multimillion-dollar production deal.
And it overshadowed a historic intervention by the Queen over the UK’s coronavirus vaccination drive in which she implored people to ‘think about other people rather than themselves’ and get the jab.
The footage came as a close friend of Meghan claimed that her forthcoming interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey, in which Harry will also appear, has been described by the interviewer as ‘the best thing she has ever done’.
American journalist Gayle King, who is believed to have introduced Miss Winfrey to Meghan, has already said the duchess had made clear that ‘nothing was off-limits’.
The Mail understands the 90minute ‘tell-all’ chat about Meghan’s life as a member of the Royal Family, motherhood and why she and Harry decided to quit, will be shown in the UK on ITV1 in its prime time 8pm slot on Monday, March 8.
Harry’s appearance on Corden’s show, filmed at the start of the month, shows him being picked up on a double decker bus – before claiming ‘you know us royals don’t carry cash’ when asked to pay his fare.
He plays along as the presenter serves him up afternoon tea to the sounds of classical music and jokes it could be an idea for his next Netflix show. Harry also takes it in his stride as they arrive at the home used to film The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, smiling as Corden says: ‘If it’s good enough for the Fresh Prince then it’s good enough for a real prince.’
Astonishingly, Harry then tells the owners: ‘I am actually dying for a pee’ and asks to use ‘their bathroom’.
Corden, who urges the prince to buy the mansion, then calls Meghan – ‘M’ – on his phone in what they suggest is an unscripted moment. The perfectly coiffed duchess appears
on the phone and asks her husband, whom she calls ‘Haz’, how his tour is going.
She also says they have ‘done enough moving’, a reference to the two luxury mansions they borrowed in Canada and LA before buying their home in Montecito.
Back on the bus, Harry tells Corden how he knew Meghan was ‘the one’ on only their second date and that their relationship ‘went from zero to 60 like in the first two months’.
He said they spend their evenings, after putting Archie to bed, cooking and watching Netflix in bed, another reference to his new production deal worth a rumoured £18million.
He also leaps to the defence of Netflix series The Crown, which has been accused of traducing the reputations of the Royal Family, insisting it is ‘loosely based on the truth’ and ‘gives you a rough idea of ... what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else... what can come from that’.
Despite insisting that his son should be brought up away from the public eye, he speaks openly about him, revealing everything from his first word – ‘crocodile’ – to what the Queen bought him for Christmas – a waffle-maker at Meghan’s request.
He also said he video-calls both his grandparents. Yet despite his obvious affection for his grandmother, he again hits back at her decision to take away his royal role and attacks what he views as a ‘toxic’ press, insisting pointedly: ‘It was never walking away. It was stepping back, rather than stepping down.
‘There was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw. It was destroying my mental health. I was like, “this is toxic”. I did what any husband and father would do, I need to get my family out of here. But we never walked away.’
The show concludes with a comedy skit of Harry and Corden being put through their paces on a military obstacle course, inspired by the prince’s decade of military service.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night, although it was clear the royal household was uncomfortable with Harry’s decision to ‘hawk’ his royal connections.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson said: ‘Timing is everything, isn’t it? On the day the Queen has issued a very important message about the nation getting the jab, that message has sort of been blurred by Harry, the man who wants a private life, talking about his private life again.’
The Queen’s former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, described Harry’s appearance on the show as ‘cringeworthy’. He added: ‘Harry is just making excuses for his behaviour in walking way from the Royal Family. It was excruciating.’